On partner’s ship
A minister looks worried after the announcement of the names of Congress candidates for the Lok Sabha election. The minister is closely connected with a candidate fielded by the rival party from a particular constituency. There are stories that the minister and the Congress candidate are jointly running many businesses. The BJP candidate and his supporters are circulating a narrative that the minister is backing his business partner – though officially a political rival. The minister is, however, telling his party men that he is in no way propping up the Congress candidate who runs a big business. So, the stories about their business partnership go on. Another BJP leader is supporting the Congress candidate against whom there are allegations that he is doing caste politics. The story, however, does not end there. The BJP candidate is casting aspersions on his own party men saying that they have ties with the rival camp’s nominee.
In trouble
The BJP organisation is very upset about an incident of a punch-up in which the son of a minister was involved. As the process for the Lok Sabha election has begun, the organisation can neither protect the minister nor act against him. The minister and his family have a lot of influence over the community he belongs to. The minister’s relatives have indirectly told if the party acts against him, their votes will go to the other side. There are reports that the leaders of the organisation have pulled up the minister. Also, there are stories that because the party’s state unit has barely had any role in the ministry formation, its leaders cannot interfere in the issues concerned with minister. The BJP’s central leadership deals with all the happenings in the state. About this minister, it is said that he is humbler than others in the cabinet, but because the case was related to his son, he flew off the handle. Yet the election keeps him safe – but for now.
Wife and wallet
The husband of a Congress candidate, immediately after the announcement of his wife’s name for a Lok Sabha seat, has opened his wallet. The contestant is well-off. So, when she was given a ticket, she was told to hand financial assistance to a few other candidates of the party. And so, her husband has pushed the boat out for her. Although the woman is contesting the polls, her husband is managing her election affairs. Her husband has begun to woo her detractors in the party since she got a ticket. As the candidate has no dearth of dough, she told the party workers to beaver away at each polling booth to ensure her victory. The Congress candidate’s money power has made the BJP contestant nervous. He does not have as much money as his rival does. So, a leader of the party, also part of the government, is bearing the candidate’s poll expenses.
Fighting fire
A candidate of the BJP is busy pacifying the leaders of her own party in her constituency where they are not on good terms with one another. So, the BJP candidate has knuckled down to sinking differences among them. This internal squabbling has become a cause of trouble for her. If she goes to the house of one leader, the others pout their lips. At the outset, as a minister in the state cabinet had an influence on her canvassing, others did not stump for her. In trying to pacify them, she visited the residence of each leader, and started avoiding that particular leader. There are reports that she had to call up a senior leader of the party to convince the crabby elements to canvas for her. Afterwards, the grouchy leaders have agreed to work together – though fighting the internal wrangling has come in the way of her electioneering.
April Fool Banaya!
The stories about April 1 observed as Fools’ Day across the world galore the history of human civilisation since the days of 14th century British poet Geoffrey Chaucer who referred to this day in his satirical work, The Canterbury Tales. Some scholars also ferret out its origin in the Bible. Anyway, it is not really connected to Indian culture. Yet people in this part of this world observe it. Those whose birthday falls on this day tingle with mortification to celebrate it. Not only that, they even avoid mentioning it in their birth certificates; however, a minister in the state cabinet is not one of them. When his followers came to know that their leader’s birthday falls on April 1, they wanted to wish him a happy birthday. They got the minister’s birthday verified from his cabinet colleagues. As they were planning to say to him ‘Happy Birthday,’ the birthday boy himself came up with an idea of celebrating the day. He tied a Sakora to a branch of a tree, so that the winged guests could drink water from it to soak their perched throats. Instead of offering his supporters a piece of sweet or a piece of cake, he offered them a piece of advice – to do the same thing for the birds as he did. Thank God! The minister did not try to play an ‘April Fool’ prank by replacing cream from his birthday cake with toothpaste.
Entries and exits
The party hoppers may not have done any good to their original political outfit. Nor may they be beneficial to their present organisation. Yet they are benefiting those who sell posters, banners, saffron Pattas (pieces of cloth with Lotus printed on it), caps and badges of the ruling party. Those selling these items are making money, because a large number of Congressmen joining the BJP daily are buying these items. The defectors ensure that whenever they meet their new bosses, they should be in saffron attire to prove that they are more loyal to the party and its ideology than the old hands of the ruling dispensation. The defectors know loyalty is demonstrated and respect commanded. The BJP’s drive to bring the Congress workers to its fold has come as a boon to those selling the party’s poll materials.
